We're getting plowed under - and it's not even winter yet
By Beth Teitell
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
I was shoveling my steps for the second Sunday in a row, complaining about winter, when a member of my work crew mentioned something that almost put me over the edge. ``I'm sorry to tell you this,'' he said, ``but technically, winter's not even here yet. It doesn't start for another week.''
Oh, right. Of course. It's still fall - one of the most beautiful seasons in New England. How could I have forgotten?
``Why is it snowing?'' I wailed as I cleared a path to my car. My co-shoveler started in about high-pressure systems and fronts, and I think I heard him say something about barometric pressure - but as all true Bostonians know, meteorology has very little, if anything, to do with our weather.
Uh-uh. Like the Red Sox' recurring October losses, bad weather happens to us for a real reason; it's just a matter of figuring out what it is. Perhaps the Bambino is furious that a Boston team - albeit the Patriots - is thriving, and he's taking time out from his busy off-season schedule to inflict yet another curse on the Nation.
Or maybe we're still paying for the mild winter we enjoyed in 2001, when I wore a T-shirt in December (and not because I was a fashion victim). At the time, many of us veterans suspected it was too good to be true.
Or maybe the bad weather's Kerry-related, or has something to do with the Big Dig.
But whatever the reason, if the storms keep up, things are going to get ugly around here.
You know how we always complain about Boston drivers? Well, it turns out the pedestrians are just as bad, or worse, when their beloved sidewalks are narrowed. More aggressive than Hummer drivers, the walkers are out on the street, practically daring vehicles to pass them. And when they ITALIC are END ITALIC on the sidewalks, they refuse to yield to other pedestrians. I've yet to have another walker give me the finger or honk a belt-mounted horn, but I'm sure it won't be long now.
When Bing Crosby sang ``Winter Wonderland,'' he wasn't talking about strolling through Boston, I guarantee you.
But the walking is just one of many weather-related stress-inducers. There's the ``Will-school-be-closed-and-if-so-what-will-I-do-with-the-kids-while-I-work?'' tension, and of course the grocery panic.
On Sunday, after hearing Saddam had been captured - and noting he looked better with a beard, more relaxed - I drove to Stop & Shop, where I made a mad dash for milk, bread, juice and peanut butter. Why, I wasn't sure, since I had plenty of all of those things at home, but the thought of not being able to shop for one whole day sent me into a frenzy.
That's when I realized how much of a toll the two storms had taken on me. Here I was, worrying about stocking up on food and drink, at a time when many of my favorite clothing stores were running huge sales on cashmere.
Talk about having your priorities thrown out of whack!
